Loving Bonds
by Dulali
Summary: A typical playdate in the park with Woody, Bo, and the gang of lost toys takes a sweetly unexpected turn.


"I'm glad you had a change of heart, Mr. Cowboy," a little girl on the playground made the Bo Peep Doll in her hand say.

"Me too, Miss Lady." Another little girl feigned a manly bumpkin voice as best as she could, animating a certain cowboy doll in her hand.

A scruffy little boy came up to the edge of the swing set area where the two little girls sat, edging another toy in between them and their toys. "Ok," the boy added in, holding a toy man on a motorcycle, "I'll let you go this time, but if you try to rob another bank again, you're gonna get it!" A few motorcycle sound effects were added in to let the cowboy know he meant business.

The girl with Bo Peep was quick to come to the cowboy's, Woody's, defense. "Stop it, you mean old biker man! Mr. Cowboy is nice now."

"Here you go, little lady," the adjacent girl made Woody hand over Bo Peep the flower of a white clover she had picked on the playground.

"What a lovely rose," the girl with Bo peep pretended. An idea suddenly came to the girl, and she gasped. "Let's have a wedding for them!"

"Yeah!" Exclaimed the other girl. The little boy didn't seem as interested.

A voice called from afar. "Kids! Lunch is ready! Time to eat!"

"Aww," sighed the little girl with Bo Peep. She slumped in protest of her playtime being cut short.

"Hey, we can marry them after lunch!" Suggested the little girl's friend. "We can plan it while we eat!"

A smile returned to the wedding planner's face. "Okay!" She beamed, setting down Bo hurriedly. "Let's go!"

"We need to make an audience for the wedding, and pick some flowers, and-" the three children's voices faded into the ambience of the not-so-busy park as they ran away.

A couple of moments passed at the edge of the swing sets, and ever so discreetly, Woody tipped up the front of his hat, to see if the coast was clear.

"Whew," breathed Bo, sitting up and straightening out her polka-dotted skirt. "That was..." She paused, realizing that only Woody had been left with her; the little boy had brought Duke along with him. The shepherdess felt the tinge of a blush on her cheeks. "That was... great!" She continued, trying to be nonchalant, but at the same time, turning away to hide her smile.

"Yeah," Woody laughed as he sat up straight, feeling a bit awkward himself. "Another, uh," he cleared his throat, "another, uh, wedding." It was, in fact, not the first time that playground children had "married up" the two. "Cute, idn't it?"

"Huh? Oh, yes," Bo answered, a bit lost in dreamy thought. "Very cute," she added as she turned back around and sat down at the swing set's edge, still smiling.

Silence fell between the two for a few moments. The birds twittering in the trees and the joyful sounds of the children in the ball park across the street gave a pleasant aura. Woody's hands folded over each other several times as he pondered a bit, pressing his lips together.

"Bo."

The tone of Woody's voice incited curiosity from the shepherdess. "Yes?" She answered, turning in place towards Woody.

"What do you say..." he began to ask. He stopped for a moment and chided himself mentally, but continued, "What do you say... we make this one official."

Bo turned further, studying the sheriff's face intently, "What?"

"Well, y-you know," Woody fumbled, resting a hand on the back of his neck. "Me and... me and you get married."

Bo appeared to almost say something, but stopped, and turned back to face the park. "I..." she began, and then laughed, "I can't marry you, Sheriff."

The words caught in Woody's throat. He fumbled over a few more words, feeling stupid, as he tried to find the right ones. "I, y-y-yes. I mean, I- I suppose it would be a little silly, to, to uh, us being..."

"I can't marry you, Sheriff, because you haven't asked me properly yet."

Woody paused, not sure if he heard right. He looked back up to where Bo was perched on the barrier of the swing set area, and his eyes met with hers. She gave a slight nod over her shoulder, smiling that heartfelt smile that always squinted her bright blue eyes a bit, and made the cowboy's little toy heart go aflutter.

"Well?"

A smile instantly spread across Woody's face. He hastily rose to his feet, albeit with a bit of awkward footing due to the wood chip-laden earth of the park, and he sprinted forth. He only made it a couple of more strides before getting tripped up in the chippy terrain again. Bo laughed, as her cowboy companion shuffled over to her the rest of the way on his hands and knees. At the swing set area's edge, Woody removed his hat and and took one of Bo's small, elegant porcelain hands in his.

The cowboy took a second to catch his breath. "Bo," he said again with a smile, lowering his head a bit meekly. "Will, will you marry me?"

Bo blinked sweetly, and took her other hand to tip Woody's chin up. "You bet your boots I will, Sheriff!" Before Woody could even react, Bo pulled him into a kiss and passionate embrace. The stunned cowboy took a moment to settle into the gesture, but as soon as he did, he was immediately pulled forwards over the swing set area's barrier. The two tumbled over each other into the lush patch of white clovers below, and muffled, amorous giggles filled the air.

After some time, the sound of trampling feet and children's voices came towards the area where the swing sets were.

"I've got the wedding guests!" One of the girls from before voiced as the children made their approach. The trampling came to a halt, and the same girl spoke up. "Hey!" She exclaimed, setting down the bundle of toys she had brought over. "Why did you lay the lady on top of the cowboy like that? Her dress will get all wrinkled!"

"I didn't!" Objected the girl who had played with Bo Peep earlier.

The concerned girl picked up and studied Bo. "Hmm, it's okay! She looks fine." She then handed Bo off to her friend.

The children spent the next while musing over the event: arranging the flowers, setting up the guests (who happened to be comprised of several toys that the bride and groom-to-be were familiar with,) and deciding what to use for wedding rings.

"Hey, check this out!" The young boy said, tromping up to where the girls had started sitting guests in their imaginary pews. "These guys can be security!" A few Combat Carls were squeezed in between a plush duck and bunny.

"Careful!" Interrupted one of the girls, "You almost squished little Police Girl!" She promptly picked up the tiny toy. "Lets move her. We don't want her to get ran over by Motorcycle Man either." After some nitpicking, the little girl sat the minuscule police lady on top of the bunny's head. "There, now she can see better too."

The other girl ran to her friend's side. "I made some rings!" She exclaimed, presenting a couple of white clover blooms, both tied into a loop.

"They're perfect!"

After another few moments of making sure everything was just right, the girls initiated their little make-believe ceremony. Their hums of "Here Comes the Bride" accompanied Bo's ascent to the pretend altar, which was a spot at the barrier of the swing set area marked by the rings that one of the girls had made.

"Hey!" The girls joined in laughter as a flurry of grass and leaves was thrown over them and the toys.

"It's confetti!" The little boy laughed.

After a bit of commotion over the grass, the girls resumed, and happily took turns playing vow master.

It was difficult for Woody to maintain his static composure in the moment, with Bo looking as beautiful as she did, glistening in the sunlight and dappled with bits of soft, white clover buds. She was an angel, and the angel couldn't help but want to break character in that moment and fall into her sweet, loyal cowboy's arms.

"Mr. Cowboy, do you take this lady to be your wife?" One girl questioned the toy.

"Yes, I do!" The other girl animating Woody replied in her feigned man-voice. She then changed her voice back to normal. "And Miss Lady, do you take this cowboy to be your husband?"

"I do!" She made Bo peep say. "Okay," she added, picking up where she left off as vow master, "Let's put the rings on them now."

With delicate hands, the little girls slipped the looped stems over their toys' arms. "There!" The girl with Woody said, "Look, they're married now!" She made Woody dance a floppy little cowboy dance.

"They have to kiss too!" The other with Bo reminded.

"Ugh." The little boy slapped his hand to his face.

"Oh, right!" Woody's puppeteer went back to being vow master. "Okay, Mr. Cowboy, you can kiss the bride now."

A voice called from afar once again. "Kids! Come on now, it's time to go!"

Both girls slouched "Aww!" Disappointment was apparent on their faces, that they couldn't wrap up the ceremony as they would have liked. The little boy was more than ready to leave, and he scurried off. Before the girls left, however, the one holding Bo took the cowboy from her friend's hand and planted the two toys' faces together for a few quick kisses. "Mwah mwah mwah!" She laughed, and then placed the both of them down before taking off towards the voice that called them.

"Hey, wait for me!" The other girl yelled, chasing after her friend.

The sounds of the empty park became the sole ambience, and after a few moments, a small sob broke the silence. Woody peered over his boots into where the imaginary pews were.

Duke Caboom wiped an imaginary toy tear from his face. "That... was so... beautiful!" He cried, before collapsing onto his motorcycle and sobbing some more.

A deeper voice spoke up. "Hey, hey, it's okay, little man," Bunny spoke as he patted Duke's back.

"Just let it out," Ducky added in support.

Giggle McDimples couldn't contain her enthusiasm from her perch atop Bunny's head. "Bo, that was SO. CUTE!" she proclaimed with a hearty laugh and a tiny leap.

Woody, still laid back, chuckled in endearing disbelief at his friends. He looked over to his right, immediately greeted by Bo's sweet, wistful blue eyes.

The guests became occupied with each other's chatter in the background, and the couple pushed themselves up to a sitting position. In that moment, it was only them in the whole world.

Bo retrieved Woody's hat from the ground that had fallen off next to her, and placed it on her cowboy's head. She gave it a gentle tug downwards, and smiled that smile. Before she could guide her hand to his face for a signature light touch, Woody grasped it tenderly.

"Well?" He said lightheartedly.

Bo leapt into Woody's arms with ardor, and kissed him lovingly. He returned the gesture, as she cradled his rosy, matte-finished face in her arms.

When they finally separated, Woody nuzzled Bo's cheek, and softly whispered into her ear. "I do."

The emotion of the moment came over Bo, and she leaned into Woody's cheek. "I do," she breathed, and embraced him tighter, as if she would never let go.

\- Fin -

Note: I give a big thank you to BeWhoYouAreBoPeep on Tumblr for the inspiration for this story! Hope you all enjoyed it!


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